Dishwasher with vibration-preventing motor and impeller mount



Aprll 7, 1959 w, PEGLOW 2,880,740

DISHWASHER WITH VIBRATION-PREVENTING MOTOR AND IMPELLER MOUNT Filed Dec. 28, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEA/TQE.

W. PEGLOW DISHWASIjER WITH VIBRATION-PREVENTING MOTOR AND IMPELLER MOUNT April 7, 1959 2 SheetsSheet 2' Filed Dec. 28, 1956 WALTEE pad-740m INVEA/ ra/Q jif ee/s, .MscH,

United States Patent DISHWASHER WITH VIBRATION-PREVENTING MOTOR AND IMPELLER MOUNT Walter Peglow, Whittier, Calif., assignor to Waste King Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application December 28, 1956, Serial No. 631,369

11 Claims. (Cl. 134-188) 'I The present invention relates in general to dishwashers equipped with motor-driven impellers for circulating water over dishes being washed and rinsed therewithin and, more particularly, to a dishwasher having vibration damping means for mounting the motor-impeller unit.

In general, the present invention contemplates a dishwasher having a housing which includes a dish chamber within which the dishes to be washed and rinsed, and preferably dried, are placed on' suitable racks, these racks being accessible for loading and unloading through a suitable doorway, which may be located at the front of the dishwasher and which is closed by a suitable door when the dishwasher is in operation. The dishwasher of the invention includes a housing means which is mounted on the bottom wall of the dish chamber, and which carries an electric motor below the bottom wall of the dish chamber and an impeller driven by such motor and located within the dish chamber above the bottom wall thereof, there being a driving connection between the impeller and the motor which extends through an opening in the bottom wall of the dish chamber.

When the impeller is driven by the motor through such driving connection, the impeller sprays water from the bottom of the dish chamber upwardly against dishes carried by the racks within the dish chamber to wash or rinse such dishes, the water returning to the bottom of the dish chamber under the influence of gravity for recirculation by the impeller. The impeller may be driven directly by the motor, or it may be of the reaction type and may be supplied with water from the bottom of the dish chamber by a pump driven directly by the motor, the pump having an inlet communicating with the bottom of the dish chamber through the opening in the bottom wall thereof and having an outlet communicating with the impeller.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a dishwasher wherein the housing means carrying the motorimpeller unit discussed above is suspended from the bottom wall of the dish chamber by an elastomeric ring which acts in tension to damp transmission of vibration from the motor-impeller unit to the dish chamber, it having been found that an elastomeric ring acting in tension in this manner serves to damp vibrations very effectively.

More particularly, an object of the invention is to pro vide an elastomeric ring positioned with its axis substan tially vertical and connected at its upper end to the bottom wall of the dish chamber around the periphery of the opening therein and connected at its lower end to an annular portion of the housing means carrying the motor-impeller unit, the annular portion of the elastomeric ring intermediate its upper and lower ends acting in tension to suspend the housing means, including the motorimpeller unit carried thereby, from the botoom wall of the dish chamber to damp vibration transmission from the motor-impeller unit to the dish chamber effectively.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for clamping the upper end of the elastomeric ring to the bottom wall of the dish chamber around the periphery of Patented Apr. 7, 1959 bottom wall of the dish chamber around the periphery.

of the opening therein and the lower annular portion of the elastomeric ring being clamped to the housing means with the housing means seated against the inner periphery of the sleeve portion of the elastomeric ring. With this construction, the elastomeric ring is adequately supported against excessive deformation or distortion in use, whichv is an important feature of the invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a housing means which includes upper and lower housing members between which the lower end of the elastomeric ring is clamped, the lower housing member carrying the motor below the bottom wall of the dish chamber and the upper housing member carrying the impeller above the bottom wall of the dish chamber. A related object is to provide a structure wherein the motor drives directly a pump carried by the lower housing member, this pump having an inlet communicating with the bottom of the dish chamber and formed in the upper housing member, and the pump having an outlet with which the impeller communicates through a passage in the upper housing member, the impeller being of the reaction type in this instance.

Another object is to provide a construction wherein the upper and lower housing members provide therebetween an annular, dovetail groove and wherein the lower end of the elastomeric ring provides a radially inwardly extending, annular, dovetail portion which is complementary to and is disposed in the annular, dovetail groove mentioned, whereby the housing means is securely connected to the elastomeric ring.

The present application discloses subject matter which is disclosed and claimed in the co-pending application of Robert M. Getchell, Horace E. Karig and John A. Fay, Serial No. 631,150, filed December 28, 1956, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application.

The foregoing objects, advantages, features and results of the present invention, together with various other objects, advantages, features and results thereof which will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of this disclosure, may be attained with the exemplary embodiment of the invention which is described in detail hereinafter and which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a dishwasher which embodies the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the dishwasher;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken along the arrowed line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a further enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken along the arrowed line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a still further enlarged, fragmentary sectional view taken along the arrowed line 55 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 5, but showing only an elastomeric ring of the invention prior to assembly thereof with the structure which it acts to support in tension.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a dishwasher of the invention which includes a housing 12 providing a dish chamber 14 enclosed by a cabinet 16. The housing 12 is provided at the front of the dishwasher 10 with a doorway 18 which 1 is adapted to be closed by a door 20 hingedly connected to the housing along the lower edge of the door for pivotal movement between a generally vertical, closed position and a generally horizontal open position about a pivot axis 22. Dishes to be washed and rinsed, and preferably dried, within the dish chamber 14 are carried by'upper and lower racks 24 and 26 which are accessible for loading and unloading through the doorway 18. It will be understood that the foregoing general structure of the dishwasher is illustrative only and that theinvention' may be embodied in other dishwasher structures.

Within the dish chamber 14 below the lower rack 26' is' an impeller 28 for spraying water, with or without suitable additives, such as detergents, water softeners, drying'agents, and the like, upwardly against dishes carried by the racks 24 and 26. In the particular construction illustrated, the impeller 28 is of the reaction type and is supplied with water from the bottom of' the dish chamber 14 by a pump 30 driven by an electric motor 32,,although other types of impellers may be utilized. The

present invention resides in the manner in which the impeller-motor unit 2832 is supported from the dish chamber 14, and will now be considered in detail.

Referring particularly to Fig. f the drawings, the dish chamber 14 is provided with a bottom wall 36 which slopes downwardly and inwardly to a recess 38 having an annular side wall 48 and an annular bottom wall 42. The latter takes the form of an annular flange which projects radialy inwardly from the side wall 40 of the recess 38 and which provides an opening 44 through the bottom wall 36 of the dish chamber 14.

The impeller-motor unit 28-32 includes housing means 46 carrying the impeller 28, the pump 38 and the motor 32. This housing means is suspended from the bottom wall 36 of the dish chamber 14 by an elastomeric ring,

48 which acts in tension and which prevents transmission of vibration from the impeller-motor unit to the dish chamber. The manner in which the elastomeric ring 48 supports the impeller-motor unit 28-32 in tension will be considered in detail hereinafter subsequent to considering the details of the impeller-motor unit itself.

The housing means 46 includes upper and lower housing members 50 and 52, these housing members providing therebetween an impeller chamber 54 for an impeller 56 of the pump 30. The electric motor 32 is carried by the lower housing member 52 and the pump impeller 56 is mounted on the shaft 58 of the motor, a suitable seal 60' being provided between the motor and the pump impeller. The pump 30 is of the axial inlet type, the upper housing member 50 being provided with a pump inlet 62 which communicates with the bottom of the dish chamber 14 and which communicates axially with the impeller chamber 54 of the pump 38. A screen 64 prevents food waste removed-from the dishes in the racks 24 and 26 from entering the pump 30.

The pump 30 is provided with an outlet 66 which normally communicates with the interior of a tubular post 68 forming part of the upper housing member 50, the reaction-type impeller 28 for spraying water upwardly throughout the dish chamber 14 being rotatably mounted on the upper end of this tubular post, as more fully disclosed in the aforementioned co-pending application. While the pump outlet 66 normally communicates with the interior of the tubular post 68 to deliver the water discharged by the pump 30 to the reaction-type impeller 28, the outlet 66 of the pump may be placed in communication with a drain 70 by a selector valve 72 controlled by a solenoid 74, as also disclosed in more detal in said co-pending application.

Considering the elastomeric ring 48 and the manner in which it acts in tension to support the housing means 46 in more detail, this elastomeric ring includes an upper annular portion 76 which extends radially outwardly. and which is connected to the bottom wall 36 of the dish chamber 14, a lower annular portion 78 which extends radially inwardly and which is connected to an annular portion 80 of the housing means 46, and an intermediate annular, sleeve-like portion 82 which interconnects the upper and lower annular portions 76 and 78 thereof and which acts in tension to support the housing means 46, and the impeller 28, the pump 30 and the motor 32 carried thereby.

The upper annular portion 76 of the elastomeric ring 48: provides a downwardly-facing, annular shoulder 84 which is seated on the annular flange 42. The upper annular portion 76 is also provided with an outwardlytacing, amiular surface 86 which is seated against the annular side wall 40 of the recess 38 in the bottom wall 36 of the dish chamber 14. As best shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, the downwardly-facing shoulder 84 is provided with an annular bead 88 and the outwardly-facing surface 86 is provided with annular beads 90, the beads 88 and 90 being engageable with the flange 42 and the side wall 40, respectively. Also engageable with the side wall 40 is an annular lip 92 at the upper end of the outwardlyfacing surface 86 of the upper annular portion 76 of the elastomeric ring 48. Upon installation of the elastomeric ring, the bead 88 is compressed against the flange 42 and" the beads 90 and the lip 92 are compressed againstthe side wall 40 of the recess 38 to provide a fluid-tight seal between the elastomeric ring 48 and the bottom wall 36' of the dish chamber 14.

The upper annular portion 76 of the elastomeric ring,

tomeric ring 48 is a clamping ring 100. This clamping;

ring is provided with an upperannular flange 102' engaging the upper, inwardly-facing surface 94, a lower annular flange 104 engaging the lower, inwardly-facing surface 96, and an intermediate annular flange 106 engaging the upwardly-facing surface 98. The upper annular portion 76 of the elastomeric ring 48 is secured'to the bottom wall 36 of the dish chamber 14 by clamping it between the side wall 40 and the annular flange 42 of the recess 38 and the clamping ring 100. For this purpose, bolts 108 extend through the annular flange 42, the upper annular portion 76 of the elastomeric ring 48, and the intermediate flange 106 of the clamping ring 100. Thus, the upper end of the elastomeric ring 48 is positively connected to the bottom wall 36 of the dish chamber' 14 in a manner providing a fluid-tight seal.

The screen 64 hereinbefore mentioned for preventing the entry of food waste into the pump 30 fits into the upper annular flange 102 of the clamping ring 100.

The lower annular portion 78 of the elastomeric ring 48 is clamped between the upper and lower housing members 58 and 52 by means of screws 110, one of which is shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, extending through the lower housing member 52 and the lower annular portion 78 of the elastomeric ring and threaded into the upper housing member 58. More accurately, the upper and lower housing members 50 and 52 are so formed'as to provide therebetween an annular groove 112 of dovetail cross section in the annular portion. 80 of'the hous-. ing means 46. The lower annular portion 78 of the elastomeric ring 48 is also of dovetail cross section and its configuration is complementary to that of the annular groove 112 so that, when the lower annular portion 78 of the elastomeric ring is clamped between the upper and lower housing members 50 and 52 by the screws 110, the lower annular portion 78 is firmly keyed apparent that since the upper annular portion 76 of the elastomeric ring 48 is connected to the bottom wall 36 of the dish chamber 14 and since the lower annular portion 78 thereof is connected to the housing means 46 carryingthe impeller 28, the pump 30 and the motor 32, the housing means 46, and the elements carried thereby, are suspended from the bottom wall of the dish chamber through the intermediate sleeve-like portion 82 of the elastomeric ring. Consequently, this sleeve-like portion acts in tension to support the housing means 46 and the various elements carried thereby, including the impeller 28, the pump 30, the motor 32, the selector valve 72, the solenoid 74, and the like. Supporting the housing means 46 with a portion of the elastomeric ring 48 in tension in this manner efiectively prevents the transmission of vibration to the walls of the dish chamber 14, which is an important feature of the invention. The elastomeric ring 48, acting in tension, suppresses vibration transmission irrespective of whether the motor 32 is driving the impeller 28, through the intermediary of the pump 30, or whether the motor 32 is driving the pump 30 to discharge water from the dish chamber 14 out the drain 70 when the selector valve 72 is in a position to connect the pump outlet 66 to the drain, instead of to the tubular post 68 on which the impeller 28 is mounted.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed herein for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that various changes, modifications and substitutions may be incorporated in such embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In combination with a dishwasher which includes a dish chamber provided with a bottom Wall having an opening therein, and which includes housing means carrying an impeller for circulating fluid in said dish chamber and having an annular portion below said opening, an elastomeric annulus positioned with its axis substantially vertical and connected at its upper end to said bottom wall of said dish chamber around said opening therein and connected at its lower end to said annular portion of said housing means to act in tension to suspend said housing means from said bottom wall of said dish chamber.

2. In a dishwasher, the combination of: a dish chamber provided with a bottom wall having an opening; housing means carrying a motor-impeller unit and having an annular portion below said opening; and an elastomeric ring positioned with its axis substantially vertical and connected at its upper end to said bottom wall of said dish chamber around the periphery of said opening and connected at its lower end to said annular portion of said housing means to act in tension to suspend said housing means from said bottom wall of said dish chamber.

3. In a dishwasher, the combination of: a dish chamber provided with a bottom wall having an opening; housing means carrying a motor-impeller unit and having an annular portion below and registering with said opening; an elastomeric ring positioned with its axis substantially vertical and extending between the periphery of said opening and said annular portion of said housing means; means clamping the upper end of said elastomeric ring to the periphery of said opening; and means for clamping the lower end of said elastomeric ring to said annular portion of said housing means, whereby the portion of said elastomeric ring intermediate said ends thereof acts in tension to support the weight of said housing means and to suspend said housing means from said bottom wall of said dish chamber.

4. In a dishwasher, the combination of: a dish chamber provided with a bottom wall having an opening therein; housing means having an annular portion below and zgeregistering with said opening; an elastomeric ring posi- -tioned with its axis substantially vertical and connected at its upper end to said bottom wall of said dish chamber around the periphery of said opening and connected at its lower end to said annular portion of said housing means to act in tension to suspend said housing means from said bottom wall of said dish chamber; a motor carried by said housing means below said bottom wall of said dish chamber; a pump carried by said housing means and connected to said motor, said pump having an inlet communicating with said dish chamber through said opening and having an outlet; and an impeller carried by said housing means within said dish chamber above said bottom wall thereof, said impeller being of the reaction type and communicating with said outletof said pump.

5. In a dishwasher, the combination of: a dish chamber provided with a bottom wall having an opening therein; housing means having an annular portion below and registering with said opening; an elastomeric ring positioned with its axis substantially vertical and connected at its upper end to said bottom wall of said dish chamber around the periphery of said opening and connected at its lower end to said annular portion of said housing means to act in tension to suspend said housing means from said bottom wall of said dish chamber; a motor carried by said housing means below said bottom wall of said dish chamber; and an impeller driven by said motor and carried by said housing means within said dish chamber and above said bottom wall thereof.

6. In a dishwasher, the combination of: a dish chamber provided with a bottom wall having an opening therein; an elastomeric ring positioned with its axis substantially vertical and registering with said opening and connected at its upper end to said bottom wall of said dish chamber around the periphery of said opening; housing means including upper and lower housing members having the lower end of said elastomeric ring clamped therebetween, whereby said elastomeric ring acts in tension to suspend said housing means from said bottom wall of said dish chamber; a motor carried by said lower housing member below said bottom wall of said dish chamber; and an impeller driven by said motor and carried by said upper housing member and disposed within said dish chamber above said bottom wall thereof.

7. In a dishwasher, the combination of: a dish chamber providde with a bottom wall having an opening therein; an elastomeric ring positioned with its axis substantially vertical and registering with said opening and connected at its upper end to said bottom wall of said dish chamber around the periphery of said opening; housing means including upper and lower housing members having the lower end of said elastomeric ring clamped therebetween, whereby said elastomeric ring acts in tension to suspend said housing means from said bottom wall of said dish chamber through said opening in said bottom wall member below said bottom wall of said dish chamber; a pump carried by said lower housing member and connected to said motor so as to be driven thereby, said pump having an inlet communicating with the bottom of said dish chamber through said opening in said bottom well thereof and having an outlet; and an impeller of the reaction type carried by said upper housing member within said dish chamber above said bottom wall thereof and communicating with said outlet of said pump.

8. A dishwasher according to claim 7 wherein said upper and lower housing members provide therebetween an annular, dovetail groove and wherein said elastomeric ring is provided at its lower end with an annular, dovetail portion complementary to and disposed in said annular, dovetail groove.

9. A dishwasher according to claim 8 wherein said bottom wall of said dish chamber provides a generally horizontal flange around the periphery of said opening, said elastomeric ring being provided at the upper end thereof with an annular portion seated on and clamped against said flange.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, the

combination of: a wall provided with an opening therein; an elastomeric ring positioned with its axis substantially vertical and'registering with said opening, said elastomeric ring having an upper, annular portion which extends generally radially outwardly, a lower annular portion which extends generally radially inwardly, and an intermediate sleeve portion connecting said upper and lower annular portions; means clamping-said upper annular portion to said wallaround the periphery of said opening therein; andhousing means clamped to said lower annular portion of said elastorneric ring and seated against the inner periphery of said sleeve portion thereof, said sleeve portion acting in tension to suspend said housing means from saidwall.

11. A dishwasher as defined in claim 5 including means providing fluid-tight seals between said upper end-of said elastomeric ring and said bottom wall of said dish chamber around the periphery of said opening and between said lower end of said elastomeric ring and said annular portion of said housing means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,130,160 Schellenberg Sept. 13,1938

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,880,740 April '7 1959 Walter Peglow It is hereby certified that error appears in the -printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 6'7, for "botoom" read bottom column 6, line 44, for providde read provided line 53, strike out through said opening in said bottom wall and insert instead a motor carried by said lower housing Signed and sealed this 28th day of July 1959.

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL H. AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Commissioner of Patents Attesting ()fficer 

